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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24799669">A Surprising Ring To It</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan'>ericsonclan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Pirate's Life For Me AU [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Eloping, F/F, F/M, Weddings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:34:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,356</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24799669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby and Aasim reveal a surprise to the group: they're already married.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aasim/Ruby (Walking Dead: Done Running), Brody/Mitch (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Prisha/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Pirate's Life For Me AU [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683673</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Surprising Ring To It</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>(by Laura)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were all sitting down to dinner when the truth came to light. Everyone was circled round the ship’s bonfire, settling down to enjoy their nightly stew. Sophie found herself seated beside Ruby, who gave her a warm smile as she passed over a roll. Sophie had only been a part of the Ericson Pirates for a few months now, but Ruby already treated her like family. It was a kindness Sophie hadn’t experienced outside of the street rats, one she appreciated more than Ruby could understand.</p><p>Sophie’s eyes were drawn to Ruby’s hand by a glint in the firelight. Looking more closely, she realized Ruby was wearing a ring, a simple gold band with a tiny stone in the center. “Wow, your ring is gorgeous,” Sophie exclaimed. She reached forward. “May I?”</p><p>Ruby nodded, offering her hand to Sophie. It was a truly lovely ring, detailed with engravings of flowers and leaves that ran across the entire band.</p><p>“It’s truly beautiful. Where did you get it? On a raid? As part of a bounty?”</p><p>“Oh, nothing like that!” Ruby chuckled. “Aasim and I picked it out together when we were looking for wedding rings,”</p><p>Silence immediately fell upon the group. Everyone was looking at Ruby with large eyes, except for Aasim who had continued eating his stew calmly.</p><p>Louis was the first to break the silence. “What the shit, Ruby! When were you guys going to tell us that you’re engaged?”</p><p>“Married,” Aasim corrected.</p><p>“What was that?”</p><p>“We’re married. Have been for a few months now,”</p><p>Everyone was in an uproar at the news. Brody and Prisha peppered Ruby with questions while Louis scolded Aasim for keeping everybody out of the loop. The younger boys started talking about what sort of wedding presents they should get to congratulate the couple while Omar fruitlessly attempted to get everyone to calm down and finish supper before it got cold.</p><p>“I can’t believe this!” Louis cried. “How could you not want any of us to attend your wedding? Are we that much of an embarrassment?”</p><p>“Actually-” Aasim began, but Ruby promptly hushed him.</p><p>“Aaw, Sug, it’s nothing like that. We’d’ve loved to have a big wedding with everybody celebratin’, but we were in the middle of getting chased by that gang of Dandiville pirates and it didn’t seem like the right time to have everybody in town together when that might attract attention and bring the law or bounty hunters down on our heads,”</p><p>“Couldn’t you have waited?” Prisha asked simply “What was the rush? Wouldn’t there have been a better time?”</p><p>Aasim sighed. “We thought that at first too. We didn’t get married out of nowhere, y’know. We spent six months waiting for a lull to last long enough for us to announce our engagement and plan the wedding. It never came. Let’s face it: our lifestyle isn’t exactly the most conducive to leisurely wedding parties. So we decided we didn’t want to wait any longer and went in to the nearest church on our next port stop to finalize it,”</p><p>“I wish y’all could’ve been there,” Ruby said, smiling wistfully. “It wasn’t anything fancy – goodness, I’d barely gotten my wedding dress together in time and Aasim was just wearing his Sunday best, but it was truly magical,”</p><p>“Wait, wait, wait,” Louis shook his hands in disbelief. “You had a wedding dress? And none of us ever even saw it?”</p><p>“It’s just something I sewed together in my spare time-”</p><p>“You sewed it on this ship and none of us ever realized?!”</p><p>Aasim shrugged. “You all just assumed we were patching the sails like always,”</p><p>“You helped her sew it?”</p><p>“Aasim’s one of the finest tailors I know,” Ruby replied with a proud smile.</p><p>“That’s it!” Louis put his hands on his hips, pushing his captain’s coat back. “I’m declaring your wedding illegitimate! Come morning we will be docking in the nearest port town and buying supplies for your real wedding! I will officiate the ceremony and you’ll be married by nightfall!”</p><p>“We’re already married, you buffoon!” Aasim scoffed, rolling his eyes in irritation. “Besides, what authority do you even have to marry us?”</p><p>Louis placed his hand over his heart. “The power I bear is far greater than any kingdom or statehood could bestow. It is the power of true friendship, the bonds that solidify all of humanity and make our vows a reality, the ties that-”</p><p>“That’s alright, Lou, I think they get the picture,” Clementine interrupted, gently tugging on his coat. She turned to Ruby and Aasim. “Just consider it our way of celebrating your marriage and congratulating you as a crew,”</p><p>Ruby shrugged. “You can never have too many hootenannies. I think a party would do us all a world of good, right, Soph?”</p><p>“Uh, sure,” Sophie stuttered. She’d never been to a party before, but she figured there was nothing revolutionary about taking a pro-party stance.</p><p>“It’s decided then!” Louis declared. “Ruby and Aasim will stay on the ship together while the rest of us head into town. Prisha, I’m counting on you to balance the budget. Brody and Violet, you’re in charge of the flowers. Omar will handle the menu with Marlon, Tenn and A.J. going along to help carry groceries. Sophie, Clem <br/>and I will pick out the decorations. Mitch and Willy, you’re on fireworks. We want them big, colorful, explosive!”</p><p>“All fireworks are explosive,” Aasim cut in.</p><p>Louis didn’t look his way, simply pointing a finger in his direction. “Aasim will be locked in the captain’s quarters for the day to avoid all further snide remarks,”</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>“Kidding! But you’re on thin ice, pal,”</p><p>“It’s my wedding!”</p><p>“So you do admit it’s a wedding!”</p><p>“Alright, enough!” Violet growled, stepping up and shooing Louis back into his seat. “We’re all going to take this seriously, OK? Ruby and Aasim are the most responsible members of our entire crew. They deserve a wedding celebration that will knock the socks off of any other parties ever. Now are we going to give that to them?”</p><p>The crew erupted in cheers, loud applause and whistling ringing through the night as the ship rocked lazily in the open sea.</p><p>“It’s decided then. Let’s all take our shifts or head to bed so we can get a good head start tomorrow!” With that the crew began to dissipate, everyone heading where they needed to be, excited chatter following wherever they went. Aasim came over to softly kiss Ruby’s cheek before heading up to the crow’s nest.</p><p>Sophie looked at Ruby apologetically. “Sorry my question caused all this. I’m guessing you two wanted to keep it secret for a while longer,”</p><p>“Are you kidding? I can’t think of anything better than getting everybody together for a party! Without you, Aasim and I probably would’ve never gotten around to mentioning it to the crew. It’s thanks to you we get to celebrate with everyone dearest to us,” She leaned forward, wrapping Sophie in a warm hug. “Thank you, Sophie,”</p><p>Sophie was unsure what to say to all that. “My pleasure,” she managed, hoping that was enough. The hug was comforting, enveloping. It lasted a long time, yet seemed almost fleeting once it had ended.</p><p>“I’m glad you’re here, Sophie,” Ruby said, eyes warm. “You’ve really brought something special to the Ericson crew. I’ll see you tomorrow, kay?”</p><p>“O-Ok. Good night,” Sophie remained by the fire as Ruby went off, heading to bed. To think how much her life had changed in just a few short months… there was something special here , something she wanted to hold onto. Taking part in a wedding, such a pivotal moment in the crew’s lives, would make her connection all the more real. They were something different than she’d ever been part of before. For the first time in a long time, Sophie was excited about the changes coming her way. It was a good feeling, one she hoped would continue. Standing up, Sophie raked the coals over the fire, settling it down for the night before heading off to sleep. Tomorrow would be a very busy day. She couldn’t wait.</p>
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